coueshunter84

Got to watch the ones headed south as they just left behind some packages somewhere. Those are the ones to be scared of, as often times they are armed or have armed escorts around somewhere. One to make sure they actually deliver what they are supposed to. Second. to make sure that no one interfears with the delivery.. And the ones carrying packages south definately have escorts as those are the ones usually carrying money. They often look exasperated due to family being held hostage until they return. Ya know got to make sure they dont run off with the product and try selling it themselves. SO they tend to freak pretty bad when they think they might get picked up. He was probably beggin you not to turn him in.

Magnets are a neat thing to play with. One thing I have learned through the years is. Magnetic forces opposing each other are real hard to control. Take a couple off your fridge and try it. If you try to force them together its almost impossible to hold them steady. And thats the principle this rest uses. Now granted I'm not a scientist and I'm sure there is some principle out there that states this is false. Now if they were to use an electro magnet that turned loose when you triggered the release. or something along those lines that uses the magnets ability to stick together. THat would bea rest to play with outdoors. Imagine a rest where the arrow would not move from the rest until you released. Then you would not have to worry about wind or anything else knockign your arrow off the rest. LOL.. Now I think its an excellent idea haveing a rest that does not touch the arrow at all. The concept is outstanding. I just dont think they will get it to fly for anything outdoors. Again possibly an indoor target archer who has several minutes to get things perfect before the shot.

Imagine a little wind and what it would do. No way you would be able to use this past 20 yards with any accuracy outdoors. Or move your bow hand just a little a tad before the shot, and have to wait for the magnets to rebalance themselves again. As stated above might be a good indoor target rest but not something I would want to take outside.

Mulies, farthest was a little over 500 yards. Closest about 20. all with the .223 Coues. 75, 40, & 68,. 2 with the .223 and one with the 30-06.

SWEET!!! Guessing gross, 119 3/8 Netting 116 4/8 Either way TOAD + Loads of Character+ just plain neat= dont matter the score,,,,LOL going to look mighty fine on the wall.

I would not hold my breath as to them changing anything. There are still meetings before then. And with the last survery there is no telling. I bet that survery told them all they needed to know to pillage all of the hunts they can to SELL MORE TAGS. All we can do is keep talking to them. Along the same lines. When I stopped by the Tucson office to get the family their licenses. I told the folks there behind the counter that I was not pleased about the wording of the survery. The lady told me very bluntly that I needed to talk to the folks in Phoenix. Seems they wanted nothing to do with anything I was complaining about. Had anyone else run into this. I figured that AZGFD, was AZGFD. and that I should be able to voice things like that. Apparently I was wrong, They punted everything to Phoenix, and all I was able to get up there was an answering machine. I called several times after that, and still got just the machine. I finally gave up.

Its much easier to hide 5lb. and 10lb. weight plates in a pack then rocks. The 10lb plates are hard to find stuffed in between the folds of pants. and the 5 pounders are easily snuck in the outside pockets of anythign with bigger compartments.

WOW, huge can of worms on this one. I dont find anything wrong with having to have a Hunters Safety card to get a license. And a bow portion for archery, etc. If there is a profeciency test involved with the course I would not be afraid. Even though "hunting situations" and "target shooting" are definately different. Logic moves tword, if you cant hit a target in ideal situations your not going to be able to shoot any better with your heart jumping out of your chest, the wind blowing, shooting 45 degrees down hill, at a 110" coues. I hunted IN Montana several years ago, and to get my " archery stamp" I had to produce evidence that I had hunted archery before ( an AZ archery elk tag sufficed ( already used of course )) or a bowhunters safety card. I have no problems with either of those scenarios. For any hunter; archery, rifle, smokepole, spear etc. I would feel a little more comfortable out in the field if I knew everyone else out there hunting had at least attended a safety course. And again not everyone will take anything away from such a class, but most will. Which in turn would theoretically make things safer for everyone else out there. Along those lines, My oldest daughters (12 y/o) decision to hunt with a recurve put me into the same basic scenario. And she was tasked with being able to hit a target at a specific distance before she was able to take her bow out to hunt with. I held my ground on that point, with the thought process that I did not want to set her up to fail. If she was not able to hit a target then the odds of her hitting vitals were exponentially low, and I did not want her to have to live with not being able to find an animal that she put an arrow into due to bad shot placement. Now with hunting, the odds of a not so good shot are always there (compound that with adding archery and again by adding traditional equipment), and it will happen to all of us at some point. But to go out asking for it due to not being able to shoot well, was not something I was willing to do. When the time came for her to hunt I was comfortable with knowing if she had made a bad shot it would have been due to something other then her shooting and confidence if her equipment. Turns out she never had a shot because the "guide" let her down and was not able to find any pigs for her to shoot at. This year she has extended her range well past what Dad requires of her. hopefully this year I can put her on some. I will be applying the same rules to rest of my kids who wish to hunt, with whatever weapon. My #2 daughter will hopefully have a general season javalina tag. She will be using my .223, and she will have to prove her shooting abilities with that weapon prior to being able to hunt with it. She knows and understands that. But she loves to go out shooting, and right now is hitting well out to 150 yards with it so the final " test" at 100 yards should be a no brainer. And at this point with the "guide" being able to control when she shoots or does not ( if a tag arrives in the mail) this should be a good season. I cant wait. Hopefully we will get turkey tags also. LOL

I have the Cabelas, 12x20 wall tent made from the same material. Havent used it but about 5 times, Have had no problems at all. Even with 4 kids running around in it. hasent faded or ripped yet. If you found one for half the price I would jump on it.

I like!!!!!!!!

for those of you shooting the WSSM rounds. My brother in law and my self both purchased a new rifle. He got a .223 WSSM, and I went with the .243 WSSM. Ony took me about 2 seconds to see that the only difference in the 2 rounds equals the bullet diameter only. Side by side the only way to really tell the difference is reading the bottom of the casings. After sighting both the guns in ( one at a time with only one type of ammo out ) We tried chambering the empties in the opposite guns. Both chambered rather well in both guns. Kind of scarry. I ended up selling mine a couple of month ago so not to worry. But still something to think about. Read them before you use them, or I might be visiting you on a professional basis. And thats not good.

I had a similar incident several years ago, involving a guide and a client. I had 2 nice set-ups on decent bulls during the archery season. Both were blown by the same 2 guys. By the conversations they were hunting cows,and the hunter both times asked his "guide" how come they were inturrupting another hunter. Both times I had bulls within 100 yards, and they walked right through the middle. The "guide" talking loud enough I was able to hear them easily at 40 yards, told the hunter not to worry about it they were after cows and " that guy is after bulls I can tell from how he is calling." If I ever happen to draw another bull tag, I will have a blunt in the quiver.

Ha !!! I got all our applications in the mail within 3 days of the regs hitting the internet. With any luck that might actually help me get a spring turkey tag this year. so far I'm 0 for 9. Well at leat want the kids to draw the Jr tags.

Start with the book, and work your way out from there. That round is relatively new so look around for a book with the most options in it. Good luck,

For carbon arrows, I take everything off I can by scraping, which is usually all everything but some of the glue, and most of the time that also. Then I run a piece of very fine sand paper over the area across the grain. Not more then one or 2 full twists, Just enough to "rough up" the areas for the fletchings. Then an alcohol prep to clean off the dust from the sanding. then good to go with the fletching. I usually save up arrows and fletch a bunch of them at once. One stage at a time. I also use the dab on the tip of the fletching to keep them from peeling. I have never had any come off by themselves. Good luck, with the experimenting.

Bitzenberger/ Takes a while to get it configured to where you want it. but once your done, your done until you want to change it again. And it allows options. I put a good helix on my fletchings. Otherwise definately a good option to think about. especially if you like to tinker with things.

I have to tell you there is no program to cure this particular affliction. Especially at your age. Might as well start selling your firarms now, as that is the next step in the process. Give it a couple of years and whatever guns you own will be rusted to the point of losing value. Better to sell them now and get it over with.. LOL>.. Good luck.

Yes, Leave them as you found them. All of the gates on the place I help out on are marked with small signs( compliments of the G&F) That say leave open or please close. We change them every time we change the gates. And it never hurts to take note of which gates are open and which gates are closed. And if you happen to run into the rancher or someone else from the place you can tell them what you have found. Most of the time you will get the old " yea that ones supposed to be open, and yea that one supposed to be closed" But occasionally you will get the " well that one should have been closed/open" and a thanks for letting us know. Especially during seasons with lots of hunters in the area. Also noting any new looking damage to anything. Or anything that looks out of order or out of place. 50 head of cows standing around a dry water trough is not a good thing and something it would be nice of you to go out of yoru way to tell someone about kind of thing. And of course it never hurts if your caught fixing something. LOL.. And if you happen to notice anyone damaging anything please take down license numbers, and anything that might help in prosecuting. And last but not least. If there is a sign in form at the gate ( G&F sign in box as part of the landowner agreements). Take the time to sign in. Couple of times we were able to find folks who needed to be found for family emergencies, just by looking at the sign in sheet, and tracking down the vehicles. Makes life a little easier on everyone. Folks who help out get lots farther then the rest. Most ranchers know where the critters hang out, and under the right circumstances will usually give you a few hints if not come right out and tell you. But you got to be talking to them for that to happen. Stop by the ranch house, say howdy and introduce yourself. We might be the ones who are pulling you out of a bind. or draggin you off the mountain. OK I'll quit preaching to the choir. Most of you folks already know all of this. But sometimes dosent hurt to put it back out there. Shane

This goes right along with the "what was your first rifle?" post. MY first rifle was a Winchester Model 7 youth. Neat little gun. Nice and light even with the wooden stock, and the 16" barrel, was still formidable enough to take 11 deer with. Between units 32 and 33. 9 mulies and 2 coues. Longest shot was a little over 500 yards ( paced). Dropped the 160lb ( dressed weight skin on) mulie right in his tracks. And the main reason I now archery hunt. Kind of took all the fun out of hunting. And for all of you folks who have more $$$.. It would be nice to have something else, but I refuse to kill a coues with the -06. Tears up to much meat. So my rifle of choice if I ever draw and decide to use a rifle again on coues will be my little Winchester Model 7 .223. And there is a good chance that all of my kids will be using that same rifle on their hunts. I shoot hand loaded 65 grain boattail spire points ( Hornadys I believe). Have never had any problems with ribs or shoulders. Then when its time for the varmis I switch over to the 45 grain hollow points, Turn the scope 4 clicks. fire a couple to make sure things are good to go, and am ready. Now I stop short of elk, but about everything else here in southern AZ that I hunt on a regular basis my little .223 has proven quite capable of tagging for me. Shane

WOW,,, Sharp Pocket knife + little muscle = fresh steak.... Wouldnt take much to move them from the side of the table to the top of the table .. LOL

Congrats, Thats way cool. How long has he been shooting to make a shot like that one? Hes got the look of one who you did not have to "twist his arm" to get him out practicing hsi shooting. LOL.. Got to love boys. the mear sight of a gun and they are ready to go. LOL>. Again congrats on the buck and the shot, and the experience for the both of you. Nice looking pea shooter also. Next you'll be packing elk out for him LOL... Shane

The dragoons are not easy to hunt, as most of the access is private, and or off limits. About the only access I know of thats real easy is south along the RR tracks out of dragoon. That accesses the west side of the mountain. I dont know if they are still doing it but the 4/ ranch had one of the sign in programs going couple of years ago. You can either hang out on the road and glass the mountain looking for coues, or you can get up high, and start finding the little beasts. Although that range is not for the faint of heart. its steep and rocky. And there are mulies in there also so be careful what your shooting at. Good luck.

Redbeard, That looks like a yummy shot to me. I would guess thats about oh 300 lbs of good eating right there. It dosent get any better then that. Congrats.,, and enjoy a couple of those elk steaks for me. Shane

Bowhunter12, Welcome to the wonderful world of bow hunting. Thats what its all about. I have to go with Redbeard on this one. If your getting frustrated with how its going right now, thats normal. Took me several years of having that happen before I tagged anything with a bow. 3 years I think it was before I tagged anything. And thats hunting hard, granted I did get close enough to miss 3-4 times during that time frame. And just for reference, Over the years I have been stuck several times in very akward positions for way to long trying to get closer. Once had a staring match with a mulie at 110 yards that lasted for about 35 minutes, with me on one foot, and my bow held up in front of me release clipped on, the whole time. Yep I played statue for 35 minutes. Another time I was coming up from a crouch to see if my target had moved, I got caught in the act and had to stay in about a half crouch for about 15 minutes. And another time I had a spike bull walk up and bugle at me , He was close enough that he blew slobber all over me. I was stuck that time on one foot also. Thats just a couple of the fun things I have done while archery hunting. If you dont like it might be time to go back to the gun seasons, cause it dont get any easier. As for shooting 50 yards and out. If you can't do it DON'T do it. And as everyone else has stated , crossbows dont come close to the ballistics and KE a decent compound will put out. So shooting out past 50 yards with crossbows is a no-no also. IF your looking for a quickie with a bow, you've definately got the worng weapon. It just dosent happen very often. Not even on Javys, and they are about the easiest thing in the world to hunt. Good luck,

Nice pics. Took a minute to find the first one. And my daughter( the 12 year old archer) walked by and said "gee that sucks I bet he didnt get a shot. " and walked off. She spotted it just walking by behind me Go figure,. LOL.. Got to love having a girl who hunts. I dont think thats a carcass. not sure what it is, but if it is a carcass its bovine or something large, and not deer. The ribs would be to big. Although those are maybe even to big for a bovine. No idea.